Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Today on Yankees.com

Were those four innings against the Phillies’ B lineup enough to catapult Joba Chamberlain right back into the mix for the No. 5 rotation slot? Joe Girardi called it “outstanding” pitching, and the race is still too close to call. March 25 is approaching fast.

Hey, it beats pitching in a covered cage! Andy said he felt good, and obviously that’s the most important thing at this stage. He said that he’s getting used to starting his springs this way, and if he can repeat the way 2009 went, no one’s going to remember that rain killed his first scheduled start of ’10.

It would appear that the Yankees lost, 6-2, yesterday at Bright House Field. By the way, that is absolutely one of my favorite Spring Training stadiums. If you’ve never been across the causeway from Tampa, definitely check it out … even if the Phillies aren’t playing the Yankees. Then hit the Tilted Kilt around the corner for postgame burgers and brews. Last year I spotted Ryan Howard chowing down there, apparently unnoticed by many of the Phillies fans in the restaurant.

I’ve got to say, Damaso Marte had no chance to get out of the way of that ball. It was absolutely smoked back up the middle by Ryan Howard. He’s going to have an ugly welt right around his belt line, but at least he avoided serious injury. Don’t expect him to pitch for a few days, though.

This was an off-season project we set out on, and once you get past the obvious calls — Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte — the decisions our panel had to grind out were tough. The point of the exercise isn’t that you should agree with every single choice on the roster, to be honest. You might disagree, and that’s actually a good thing. But give it a look and some thought. It was fun and something different to do.

Back in time

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